The One You Love Best
by Higuchimon
Summary: [au: vampire; Cry of Vengeance universe] There is someone who seeks revenge on Kamishiro Ryouga and their weapon of choice is his long-time boyfriend Durbe.
1. Orders

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal  
**Title:** The One You Love Best: Chapter 1: Orders  
**Romance:** Durbe x Nasch  
**Word Count:** chapter: 1,546||story: 1,546  
**Genre:** Romance, Supernatural||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, bonus prompt, beloved; written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section H, #8, a multichap with exactly four chapters.  
**Summary:** [1/4 chapters, Durbe x Nasch/Nasch x Durbe, Tomoshipping, 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge, au: vampires] There is someone who seeks revenge on Kamishiro Ryouga and their weapon of choice is his long-time boyfriend Durbe.

* * *

Durbe wrapped his coat around himself more tightly and pulled the hood over his head in a vain attempt to block the rain from getting to him. Cold and thick, it poured out of the sky like gray death, perhaps a few breaths shy of being sleet or even snow, creating chilly pools that threatened to soak him to the knees if he so much as brushed by them.

Mizael wouldn't like this, he thought randomly as he hurried down the street, hoping that he could catch the bus in time. But Mizael never liked any weather that put his acres of blond hair at risk.

His thoughts slid much more pleasantly over to Ryouga and if he were still awake waiting for him. A glance at his watch told him that he probably was; Ryouga was something of a night owl by choice anyway, and since Durbe was already an hour late, he was probably still there, watching the door and pretending that he wasn't, waiting for Durbe to get there.

It would be pleasant to get home. A hot shower and some dry clothes were already at the top of his list, along with something hot to eat. He so looked forward to Ryouga's cooking. It was worth getting soaked just to have it.

There was someone behind him.

Durbe tensed a fraction; while some people presumed because of his 'fluffy' looks (Ryouga insisted he was fluffy, even when he knew otherwise) that he knew nothing of how to fight. If any of them dared to attack him, even jokingly, he showed them how very wrong they were. So when he heard footsteps moving along behind him, all of his senses flared into alertness.

It wasn't someone he knew, he could guess that right away. Most of the people he knew would be safely indoors at this point, and even more of them would be sound asleep.

He wasn't going to say that he was in any kind of danger, not just yet. This wasn't a bad neighborhood and he could see the lights of the bus stop a short distance ahead. But a faint thread of fear still wormed its way down his spine.

Cautiously he began to slide his hand into his pocket, searching for his cell phone. He always made certain to have it with him, especially if there was any chance that he might have to work late at the bookstore.

_No._ The voice rang in his mind as clearly as if someone had spoken next to his ear. He froze, straining to pull the cell out, but to no avail. _Don't do that. You're not in any danger._

He knew that, but he wanted to call Ryouga anyway, to let him know that he was on the way home.

_No. You don't need to._

For all that no one stood there, Durbe could feel hands on his wrists, tugging him somewhere else. There were still a short distance to go before he reached the bus stop, and he found himself going down a street he'd never bothered going down before.

_Come with me._

He didn't like this at all but his feet weren't paying attention to him anymore. Instead they followed these strange orders from a strange voice and as much as he wanted to pull away, he _couldn't_.

_Of course you can't. I gave you an order and you will obey me._

Without knowing how or when, Durbe found himself walking beside someone. Or someone walked beside him. They had the same set of footsteps that the person he'd heard before did. He tried to get a look at whoever it was, but his head refused to move.

_You'll see me soon enough. We're almost there._

That didn't stop Durbe from trying, anyway. He just couldn't see as much as he wanted. The dim light contributed to that, but he thought he spied a leather jacket. One that clicked at something in the back of his memory.

There wasn't much time for him to think about it, however, as he and his unwanted companion entered a building and Durbe followed the other up a set of rickety stares to a room that held nothing but an oddly sturdy chair, complete with chains.

"Sit down." The voice came from the other, and _now_ Durbe recognized it, even as he obeyed, his body moving without command from his mind.

"Vector!"

Now he could see, and the ginger-haired malcontent smirked at him. "Put your hands down," Vector ordered, and again Durbe's body obeyed without question.

"What did you do to me?" Durbe demanded. Vector did not answer at first, but picked up the chains and wound them tightly about Durbe's wrists and ankles.

"Don't ask so many questions. You wouldn't understand the answers and I don't really want to give them to you anyway. You'll understand what you need to soon enough anyway." Vector stepped back and looked Durbe over, a hungry look in his eyes. "Your precious _Ryouga_ has annoyed me for the last time."

Durbe blinked a few times before he heaved a sigh. "You did notice I'm not him, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. That's why I brought you here. He's too well protected for me to get to him myself. So I'm sending you instead." Vector's smile spoke of madness, as it always did. "You're going to take care of him for me. And you'll enjoy it."

"What makes you think I'd ever hurt him?" Durbe strained at the chains. Wherever Vector had bought them, they were well-made and didn't give at all.

"Because I'm going to tell you to, and in a very few minutes, you're going to do anything that I want you to." Vector licked his lips and Durbe did not want to think he'd just seen _fangs_ there. Sharp incisors, maybe. But not fangs. He didn't want to utterly discount the existence of vampires, but to think that one existed this close to him?

To think that one was eyeing his neck as if he were the main course?

Instead he focused on what Vector said. "I'd never do anything that you wanted!"

"But you already have. You came here because I wanted you to. You sat down because I told you to. And you're going to finish Ryouga because I want you to." Vector stepped toward him, each footfall as loud as a thundercrack to Durbe's mind. "And then you're going to live the rest of eternity knowing that you did this because I wanted you to."

Durbe wished with all of his heart that he had some supernatural power of his own in that moment. Something that would let him break the chains or prevent Vector from biting him. But nothing miraculous happened as Vector's hand, cold as ice, cold as death, pressed his head to the side, and fangs sharp as hate bit into the side of his neck.

He screamed. But Vector muffled it as he overrode everything else Durbe wanted to do that night, and took his fill.

* * *

Ryouga paced back and forth. Durbe should've been home two, even three hours earlier. He'd called up the bookstore and found it closed already. Which meant that Durbe should've been on the way home. And yet he wasn't there.

He hated worrying. He hated not being able to do anything. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed his jacket and started out the door. He knew the route Durbe took between the bookstore and home, and even with that including a bus route, he would walk every inch of it just to make certain the other was all right.

Just to make certain, he also grabbed his phone, and started to dial Durbe's number, hoping to get _something_. He'd tried it once before and there hadn't been any answer. But he tried again.

And again. And again. And still nothing.

Ryouga made it halfway to the bus station before he spied the pale-haired figure moving toward him. He refused to admit that his heart lurched in relief before he hurried over there. "Durbe! What took you so long?"

_What happened? Are you all right?_ Those words hovered at the back of his lips but he didn't let them out, not yet.

Durbe looked at him, or at least turned his head in Ryouga's direction. Ryouga couldn't tell if Durbe was actually looking at him or not. He didn't seem to see him.

"I had to meet someone. It was important. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

His voice sounded slightly off, a little dulled. He was probably exhausted. He certainly looked it. Ryouga shook his head. He'd fret about this later. Right now, he urged Durbe back up to the apartment, thinking thoughts of hot showers and hot meals and getting Durbe into bed for some sleep. The bookstore would have to handle itself the next day without him.

* * *

One thought rang through Durbe's mind: Kamishiro Ryouga must die. The master commanded it, and he could no more disobey than he could've stood in the sunlight and not died. He paid no mind to the rain anymore, or to anything but the twin commands of the master and his hunger.

Slowly, he began to move toward Ryouga.

**To Be Continued**

**Note:** I was honestly tempted to leave it there. But I decided I could spin it out a little longer.


	2. Fight

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal  
**Title:** The One You Love Best: Chapter 2: Fight  
**Romance:** Durbe x Nasch  
**Word Count:** chapter: 1,549||story: 3,095  
**Genre:** Romance, Supernatural||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, bonus prompt, beloved; written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section H, #8, a multichap with exactly four chapters.  
**Summary:** [2/4 chapters, Durbe x Nasch/Nasch x Durbe, Tomoshipping, 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge, au: vampires] There is someone who seeks revenge on Kamishiro Ryouga and their weapon of choice is his long-time boyfriend Durbe.

* * *

Most of Ryouga's attention remained taken up with getting a hot meal ready for Durbe and finding something clean that he could change into, while griping that he hadn't done the laundry that week yet. Normally Durbe did it, but he'd been busy at the bookstore. Which meant there were clean clothes somewhere, but Ryouga had no idea of where they were. Laundry wasn't his jurisdiction. He cooked and washed dishes.

But because most of his attention was occupied didn't mean all of it was, and he could hear Durbe's soft footsteps moving closer to him. And that was not in the direction of the shower.

"Durbe? Where are your clean clothes?" There was something off about the way his boyfriend moved. It set off warning alarms in the back of his mind. He kept himself alert, ready for anything.

At least he thought he was, until Durbe blurred forward, at a speed that no human could possibly move at, and Ryouga found his wrists held in a grip that he couldn't break. He'd always known Durbe worked out; they'd done so together on more than one occasion. And yet this was as if Durbe was somehow endowed with superhuman strength.

"Durbe! What's wrong?" He tried to get a look at Durbe's eyes; those had always held the truest sense of what was going on with him. When he caught a glimpse, Ryouga's heart skipped a beat. He'd heard the saying 'the lights are on but no one's home' before, and until now he hadn't really grasped the full meaning of it.

But now he did. Durbe's eyes no longer shimmered cloud-gray, fit to match his hair. Instead, they were flat and cold and almost colorless, no life at all reflected within them.

Ryouga only had a few moments to take that in before Durbe began to press downward, bending him backward over the pile of unwashed laundry. Ryouga kicked upward, wanting to at least get out of that grip, and twisted himself to the side, heart pounding. Durbe released his wrists, but didn't go very far. It was as if the kick hadn't even registered on him at all.

"Durbe?" Ryouga had no idea of what had happened to him. If he believed in such things at all, he would've said Durbe acted brainwashed. It didn't make a shred of sense, and it still was the only answer that even came close to explaing his actions.

Durbe moved forward and Ryouga only just had time to dart out of the way, his feet getting caught up in the laundry and sending him spinning to the floor.

This was not going well. Ryouga jerked himself to his feet and tried to hit the door running. The only chance that he had was to get away and find someone who could help. The problem with that was that he didn't know anyone who could help.

"Ryouga." The word grated out of Durbe and Ryouga looked over unwillingly, head pulled as if by a string. "Stop."

As hard as he tried, Ryouga couldn't make himself move. The tone of Durbe's voice refused to allow it.

"What are you doing? What happened to you?" Someone _had_ to be pulling Durbe's strings, no matter how much Ryouga didn't want to believe it. He would never do this on his own. Durbe could be, and frequently was, passionate and devoted to whatever his cause was, but he wasn't a murderer. Not at all.

Ryouga's eyes widened as Durbe's mouth fell open. He said nothing, but now Ryouga could see a pair of sharp teeth...no. Those weren't just teeth. Not that pointed, not that strong and slim and sharp.

Those were _fangs_.

Ryouga had always classified vampires the way he felt most people did, something that could be an interesting story but had nothing at all to do with his reality. Not until he stared into the face of one, the face that was his boyfriend.

"Durbe!" He tried to move and still couldn't. Only his voice remained, and he used that to his advantage. "Durbe, why are you doing this? Who did this to you?"

He couldn't be certain but he thought he saw a small spark of the Durbe that he knew in those flat eyes at the question. Durbe's lips twitched a fraction. This time a word came out, a word that Ryouga knew, and hated.

"Vector."

Of _course_. It just had to be him. Ryouga and Vector had hated one another from the moment they set eyes on each other. Neither could explain this hatred, and as far as Ryouga knew, Vector had never cared to try. He knew that he hadn't. It was just one of those times where two people saw one another and decided the exact same thing at once.

_This son of a bitch has got to go._

Vector had put much more effort into ruining Ryouga's life than Ryouga had with him, of course. Ryouga decided the best way to annoy Vector was to have the best life he possibly could. Not that he hadn't gone out of his way a few times to do things he knew would annoy Vector. Such as making certain Mizael and Kaito got set up with one another. Two dates and Mizael told Vector that their relationship of 'you are not my friend but we have benefits together' was over with.

Vector still hated Ryouga for that. Ryouga counted it for a win for that alone.

Granted, Vector had done plenty to hurt other people that Ryouga knew. He didn't confine his hate to Ryouga. He had too much of it, so he spread it around to everyone else.

Which was probably why this was happening now. Ryouga had no idea of how, or if, Vector had become a vampire. He could've just made a bargain with one. But the point was, he had taken Durbe from him, and Ryouga wouldn't let him get away with that.

He hadn't yet figured out how to fix everything, but he'd manage that once he didn't have a hungry vampire boyfriend on his rear.

"You don't have to listen to him!" Ryouga strained harder, wanting to get away, wanting to stop Durbe, no matter what it took. "You don't listen to him! You never have!"

Durbe's features twitched a bit more, and Ryouga hoped that was a good sign. He tried to move, but whatever spell Durbe's voice spun hadn't ended yet. "Hungry, Ryouga."

This was _not_ good. _If he were going to turn him, why couldn't he at least feed him?_ That only made sense, with what little Ryouga knew about vampires. Most of that probably wasn't true anyway, but it did look like Durbe really needed something to eat. Or drink.

"I'm not on the menu." Had he managed to move his foot? He thought so. He scrambled for more words, anything that would break through to Durbe. "Durbe, you hate Vector as much as I do. You always have. You don't want to do what he tells you."

Durbe stepped closer, and Ryouga suddenly realized that he wasn't moving as quickly as he had before. It would be so easy for him to dart forward and fasten his fangs onto Ryouga's neck, drinking him dry in a matter of seconds.

And yet he hesitated. He didn't move as fast as Ryouga knew that he could now. The harder he looked, the more Ryouga thought there was some kind of internal arguing going on there.

Another step. Too slow. Too quiet. Durbe's eyes met Ryouga's, and Ryouga tensed, not sure if he should expect something or what it might be. There was another flicker in Durbe's gaze, something that made him look more like the man Ryouga knew.

"I have to." Durbe did not sound happy about this at all. "I have to kill you. He said so. I can't _not_ do it."

Ryouga's mind worked at a speed he'd never imagined before. Could this work? Would it be worth it? What would he say to everyone else? To Rio? To Yuuma? To Durbe himself?

But what would Durbe do if he didn't? Could he let Durbe deal with this?

No. No, he couldn't.

He tilted his head back a little, surprised to find that he could do so at all. "Go ahead, then. But Durbe... I don't have to _stay dead_."

He could only hope that Durbe understood what he was saying. He didn't seem to be working on full cylinders anyway.

A flutter of movement and Durbe fell on top of him, jerking Ryouga's head even farther up to expose the veins in his neck. Ryouga didn't know if he would have fought if he could have. All he did was close his eyes and let Durbe do what he needed to do.

* * *

Durbe's head slowly cleared. The aching, pressing, screaming need faded away. His throat, a horrid mess of hunger and thirst, no longer screamed for surcease.

He blinked slowly, trying to remember what had happened. He'd been walking, and then Vector... Vector, and _fangs_ and... and...

"Ryouga," he murmured, a heartbeat before he became aware that there was a body stretched out beneath him. He stared downward, unneeded breath stopping.

It was Ryouga.

And he wasn't breathing.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Awakening

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal  
**Title:** The One You Love Best: Chapter 3: Awakening  
**Romance:** Durbe x Nasch  
**Word Count:** chapter: 1,564||story: 4,659  
**Genre:** Romance, Supernatural||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, bonus prompt, beloved; written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section H, #8, a multichap with exactly four chapters.  
**Summary:** [3/4 chapters, Durbe x Nasch/Nasch x Durbe, Tomoshipping, 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge, au: vampires] There is someone who seeks revenge on Kamishiro Ryouga and their weapon of choice is his long-time boyfriend Durbe.

* * *

Durbe didn't stop to think. If he'd thought, he would miss his chance. Ryouga wasn't breathing, but he could hear the tiniest, faintest glimmer of a heartbeat. His time was running around. He bit his own wrist until a trickle of blood ran down, then pried his boyfriend's mouth open and let that fall in there.

_Please!_ It wasn't a thought so much as it was a prayer, sent winging to whatever gods might listen to whatever it was that he was now. He didn't know and he didn't care, so long as they listened and gave him this chance to fix what he'd done.

He could hear the heartbeat slowing. Faltering. Stopping. He stared. He needed to hear something. He didn't know if there would be another heartbeat, no matter what. Absently he pressed his fingers to his own chest and waited until a small, regular thump sounded.

Then he touched Ryouga's, and waited. Hoped. Prayed even more.

Eyes as blue as the sea flew open, and Ryouga's lips parted to reveal teeth as sharp as the edge of the North Wind. There was little sense in them, but Durbe pressed his hands into Ryouga's shoulders anyway.

"Ryouga!" He needed something...blood! For once in his life, Durbe's mind ran slow and sluggish. Of course he needed blood. They both did. He recalled Vector having had someone else in there, someone he hadn't noticed until after he'd revived, and he'd fed thoroughly on that poor soul.

That meant he would have to do that to someone else. _Two_ someone else's; there was no chance that one person could have enough for both of them, not with as hungry as they were.

Every part of Durbe ached at the thought of going out to do this, but the simple and sad fact was that they had no choice. If they didn't feed off someone, then they would feed off everyone. The knowledge rested in the core of his mind. To not feed was to risk a blood-hunger that would surely end with them being found out and destroyed.

"No." All of that had passed through Durbe's mind in the space of a heartbeat. Ryouoga's eyes fastened on him firmly, with a fraction more sense in them. "Nasch."

Durbe blinked, but did not argue. The name slotted itself into his mind, displacing 'Kamishiro Ryouga', and he didn't look back. It didn't matter. Ryouga or Nasch, this was the man that he loved, and he would do anything he needed to do. As Nasch had done for him, sacrificing his humanity to bring Durbe's senses back.

"We have to go out." Durbe helped Nasch to his feet. For all that he was scant minutes into his new life, Nasch still held a hunter's unnatural grace. "We need to eat."

Nasch nodded, and they headed outside. It wasn't safe to dine at home; they could be found out. A thousand ways to find their new prey scorched through both their minds. The safest way would be to hunt far from the apartment, among those who would not be missed. Even for all of its glimmering grace and beauty, there were people like that even in Heartland.

Finding where some of those lurked wasn't as difficult as one might have thought. The scent of blood drew them both on, calling with a low siren song that only the two of them heard.

Not that Durbe would've turned down the chance of finding Vector there. His mind clear of the other's influence, the thought of sinking his fangs into the ginger's throat was far more enticing than perhaps it should've been.

He put the image to the back of his mind for now. He and Nasch could deal with that later, once they were both much less starving.

What they found was a small gang, flopped around with bottles of beer and other things that reeked to Durbe's nose. From the way Nasch's wrinkled, he didn't like the scent any better himself. One of the gang members looked up when the two drew closer.

"Man, are you guys lost or something?" He let out a raucous laugh. "We don't give directions. So get lost."

Nasch smiled. He didn't make any attempt to hide his fangs. "We don't need them. We just need something to drink."

The one who spoke laughed again, a sound that grated harshly on Durbe's ears. "You want a beer? Here!" He threw one toward Nasch, who caught it as easily as if he'd wanted it in truth. He also shattered it with a slight flex of his fingers, shaking the shards from his hand as if they were little more than useless paper. "Hey!"

Nasch wasted no more time, but seized hold of the gang member's throat. "I didn't say I wanted a beer. I said I wanted a drink."

For a bunch of hardened gang members, these didn't seem to take the sight of sharp fangs sinking into their companion's neck very well. Shrieks and howls of terror filled the air, even as Durbe selected a prey of his own and began to drink. The others fled as fast as they could. Neither Durbe nor Nasch looked up from their meal. If they wanted more, they could find it easily enough. And it wasn't likely that anyone would believe any wild stories that might come from this. It was only if the tales became common that they would be at risk.

Durbe knew very well that if this had happened only a day or two earlier, he would've been horrified at the thought of drinking blood, especially from someone who'd only been a little rude to him. From doing this _on purpose_; they'd come here for the blood, nothing more. But now all he could think was how good this tasted, but it would've been better if his chosen dinner had washed more regularly.

When it was over, there was still life in his particular victim. Durbe dropped him down and stepped over to where Nasch was still taking the last of it from his victim's veins. He rested a hand on his lover's shoulder.

"That's enough." There was no need to overindulge. He knew Nasch's appetite had been sated. He simply hadn't yet fully mastered control. Every time he fed it would become easier.

Nasch licked his lips slowly, much more sense and reason coming into his expression. He blinked, staring at Durbe as if he'd never seen him before. "Durbe?" The word was little more than a whisper, full of pain and shock and confusion. Durbe took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Nasch, holding him close.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think Vector would be a problem," he murmured the words that had lived in the back of his mind for hours now. Hours? Had that been how long since everything changed so much? "I don't even know how he did it." He wanted to find out; maybe there was something he could do to protect himself. To protect Nasch, and all of their friends.

Nasch held him close. "It's all right." It was a lie. They both knew it wasn't and it would never be again. They could only try to work through this together.

Nasch tilted his head back and far more than sense glimmered in the depths of his eyes. The burning desire for revenge shone as well. "We're going to have to teach Vector a few lessons. Like not trying to kill us."

Durbe held back from saying that Vector technically had done so. But since they hadn't stayed that way, it didn't count. They would make certain that whatever else he had in mind didn't either.

"He wanted me to come back after I was done. To let him know you were dead," Durbe whispered. He remembered that now; he'd been too busy trying to make certain his lover _lived_ to think about it earlier. Or wasn't alive. Durbe didn't like knowing what words to use to describe things.

He could feel Nasch's smile against his shoulder. "Then I think we should let him know that I am dead. Don't you?" That smile would've terrified most people who saw it. There was a reason Nasch's childhood nickname had been 'Shark'.

"I think you're right." Durbe breathed in Nasch's scent, treasuring it. One perk to this, he thought, would be the enhanced senses. He'd always known what Kamishiro Ryouga smelled like, but the aroma of Nasch worked itself deeper into him in a matter of moments. He didn't know why the name change, but the longer he spent in Nasch's company, the less it mattered. They were one and the same. That was all that was necessary.

"Do you know where to find him?"

Durbe nodded. Vector had told him he would remain in the warehouse until Durbe returned with both word of the success of his mission and some sort of token to prove it. And he knew just what that token would be.

Nasch brushed a lock of hair from Durbe's face and smiled his shark smile once again. "Then let's go say hello. If we're all going to be immortal, then we should be _friendly_ to the others, right?"

Durbe chuckled at that. "I don't want to spend eternity around him." He tightened his arms around Nasch. "But I could spend it with you."

**To Be Continued**


	4. Evidence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal  
**Title:** The One You Love Best: Chapter 4: Evidence  
**Romance:** Durbe x Nasch  
**Word Count:** chapter: 1,520||story: 6,179  
**Genre:** Romance, Supernatural||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, bonus prompt, beloved; written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section H, #8, a multichap with exactly four chapters.  
**Summary:** [4/4 chapters, Durbe x Nasch/Nasch x Durbe, Tomoshipping, 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge, au: vampires] There is someone who seeks revenge on Kamishiro Ryouga and their weapon of choice is his long-time boyfriend Durbe.

* * *

Vector did not like waiting. He could've made a list of everything in the world that he didn't like – Kamishiro Ryouga rested comfortably at the top of the list – but waiting certainly was one of the most annoying.

What in the world could be keeping Durbe? Surely he'd done the deed by now. There wasn't any way that Ryouga would be able to stop him. His soft heart wouldn't allow him to kill his boyfriend, even when his boyfriend was hell-bent on killing him.

The only thing Vector didn't like about his plan was that he wouldn't be there to see Ryouga die personally. As much as he wanted to follow along and see the lovely sight for himself, if he stayed too near to Durbe, that ran the risk of the other overpowering his control through sheer mutual hatred. He'd moved too quickly for that to happen before, and he didn't want to lose his advantage.

He also had other matters he needed to attend to. There was a certain blond who needed to end up in messy chunks all over the floor, and another long-haired blond who had to re-learn what his place in the world was. He wanted to get that set up as soon as possible.

He ran one finger over his sharp fangs and smiled. Who would've imagined that becoming undead was the answer to all of his problems? He could dispose of Kaito with ease. Even those two bodyguards of his wouldn't be a match for him now. Mizael would be his again, forever this time – and he did mean _forever_.

And most of all, _best_ of all, he would have contributed to the demise of Kamishiro Ryouga. He could hardly wait for Durbe to bring him the evidence he wanted. It would have to be something spectacular, something that Ryouga would give up only in death. Perhaps even his head? Oh, but that would be wonderful.

There was a slight movement near the door. Vector looked up to see Durbe standing there, and smiled in triumph.

"You're back." Finally. It wasn't as if there were traffic to get in his way anymore. Durbe would have to learn better if he were going to be the kind of servant Vector intended to make out of him.

Durbe moved forward into a pale splash of light cast by the outside streetlamp. Vector didn't need it, but he hadn't yet gotten around to destroying it yet. Regardless, he could see more clarity and sense in Durbe's eyes now, which pleased him a great deal. He wanted a slave who knew what he was doing, not one too mindless to think for himself.

He could also see hate and rage there, but he expected that. Durbe hated him nearly as much as Ryouga did. That had all factored into why Vector's plans were what they were.

"Did you bring me what I wanted?" Vector brushed off an imaginary piece of dust from his jacket. "You did do it, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Durbe replied at last. Vector was glad; he' begun to wonder if turning him had done something to the other's voice. If that happened, he wanted it to be something he'd done on purpose, not an accident. It was much more satisfying that way.

Vector nodded, raising one eyebrow and holding out his hand as he did. "Well? The token?" His head? Perhaps even his deck? Ryouga didn't duel as he had when a child, but he still kept his deck safe and close. He wouldn't let even Durbe take it without a very good reason. So it would be safe to assume that if Durbe had it, then Ryouga was dead.

But it was neither his head nor his deck that Durbe pulled out from beneath his jacket. Instead, a gleaming blue pendant shone there, shaped much like a flower, with a shimmering ruby in the center.

Vector recognized it, of course. No one else had anything like it, since Durbe had crafted it for Ryouga when they were all in school, giving it to him as a gift. It was even more precious to him than his deck was.

"Perfect." Vector snapped his fingers and Durbe took a few steps closer. The necklace hung just over Vector's grasping hands, then suddenly it was snatched away. "What!"

"I don't think that belongs to you." A hated voice, a voice that should not have been able to speak, did just that, and a slim, strong hand caught the pendant away from Vector's reach.

"What... you! You're supposed to be dead!" Vector snarled, hands curling into fists, fangs ready to feast on the blood of his enemy. He glared at Durbe. "You disobeyed me!"

Durbe smiled. He'd never seen a smile like that on the man's face, and found he didn't like it at all. "No. You told me to kill him. I did that."

Ryouga smiled, and Vector liked that even less, since now he saw the fangs that gleamed there. "I just didn't _stay_ dead."

Vector took a step back. Even with all of his enhanced strength and speed, he had never been much one for physical fighting. He liked to use his mind more than anything else. It was so much more entertaining to set friends against one another and see them destroy each other like that. That was why he'd planned this to begin with. To see Durbe shred his beloved and to know that poor dear Ryouga must've felt _so_ betrayed. That would've given him pleasing dreams for weeks on end.

But it looked as if that were not to be now. Even worse, with Ryouga being a vampire as well now, that meant their hatred could go on forever. Vector was up to the task, but he'd wanted to _win_ already. To have this finally over with so he could deal with matters more important. Not to have his enemy have the same power that he had, and still be a problem.

"Loopholes." He spat the word out harshly. This wasn't over with. Even if he fled now, he would survive, and there were other people he could use and twist into his minions, ones he could use to bring down Ryouga and all that he held dear.

And he would. He wasn't going to let this end with their permanent victory. A small loss now could lead to something bigger later.

But he still didn't like this. He'd been so _close_!

"You don't have to stress yourself that much," Ryouga said, a dark tilt to his lips. "You could say that Kamishiro Ryouga is indeed dead. Because I'm not him anymore. I am _Nasch_."

Something in that name sent deeper fires of fury burning all through Vector. He couldn't have placed it and now wasn't the time to ask questions.

"I don't care what you call yourself. You're going to die, and stay that way, and I'll be the one who does it! I won't send someone after you next time. Next time, it will be _all me_."

Vector didn't spend another second telling them anything. Instead, he slipped through the cracks in the wall, little more than mist, and headed for his own private safehouse. He had a great deal of planning to do all of a sudden.

* * *

Nasch snarled as Vector vanished into a cloud of mist, escaping before either of them could do anything to avenge what he'd done to them. The only reassurance they had was that he'd be back. All to the good, to Nasch's way of thinking. Neither of them would be comfortable knowing that he was out there causing trouble utterly unsupervised.

"We'll find him again. Or he'll find us. He's not the type to let things just slip away," Durbe reassured him. He touched a finger to the necklace and then up to Nasch's face. "We have other things to worry about."

That was true. There were people who needed to know about their change in circumstances, and other arrangements needed to be made. Nasch could hardly imagine what Rio would do once she knew he was now a blood drinking creature of the night. He could already play half of her lecture in his head already.

They would need safe places to rest and some kind of change to their working schedule. Durbe would be able to take night shifts at the bookstore, so that would be less of an issue. But his own job would be more difficult. Perhaps he'd look into changing it. He hadn't been completely thrilled by it anyway.

Feeding would be another problem. He didn't have any qualms about taking out some of the dregs of society, or people who really got on his nerves, but there could only be so many of those. Something else would have to be done about that.

Until he could work that out, he and Durbe would have to be very careful about what they did and how they did it, and who they did it with.

Luckily, that was something they were both very good at.

**The End**


End file.
